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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. current — electric
  3. squash — the sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. current — happening now
  10. deal — to handle
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. current — of water
  16. staff — a stick
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. squash — to crush
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com